Making the short step to new hi-tech facilities at the Hethel Engineering Centre, Norwich is Knowles (UK) - formally known as Syfer Technology. The move reflects Knowles’ commitment to R&D for its portfolio of ceramic based electronic components manufactured in Far East and North American facilities.

Knowles capacitor brands Novacap and Syfer Technology jointly announce the launch of a range of high temperature MLC chip capacitors. Booth 20 at HiTEC 2016, May 10 and 11th at the Albuquerque Marriott Pyramid North, New Mexico, will be the venue for the launch of the HiT range.

Offering reduced size and weight using high permittivity, temperature stable materials, the new series of Directional Couplers from Knowles brand, DLI, are manufactured using DLI’s precision Thin Film technology and offer an option for microwave systems in commercial, military and space applications.

Imaging systems represent the largest sector of the medical electronics industry. Among the range of imaging modalities in continuing development, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners are one of the most significant, as Knowles explain.

Knowles is pleased to announce that the latest capacitor facility in Suzhou, China is fully operational. This completes the relocation of MLCC manufacturing from plants in the UK and Mexico. Located in the Xiangcheng Economic Development Area in Suzhou, the factory has 10Km2 of floor space. This reflects a significant investment in expanded capacity and provides space to grow the business.

Novacap has expanded its offering to include gold plated terminations for conductive epoxy or gold/indium solder attachments, to help eliminate the problem of tin ‘whiskering’. Conventional termination was previously tin/lead, but lead was banned by the RoHS directive. Pure tin-plated terminations allow tin whiskers to grow from surfaces and can cause electrical short-circuits and failures. 

From the Syfer Technology facility of Knowles Capacitors comes a range of cost effective MLC capacitors suited for a variety of designs, including demanding applications. The PSL range of MLCCs by Syfer is manufactured using Syfer’s unique screen printing process and is suitable for power supplies, DC/DC converters, LED lighting and other demanding applications.

Knowles Capacitors announces a Wilkinson power divider that is designed to provide in phase power splitting or combining over a broad bandwidth in low power applications. This is achieved by application of precision thin film fabrication with integrated resistors, coupled with high permittivity ceramic materials, to provide a high performance and repeatable design solution.

In the field of MRI, Voltronics have developed what it claims is the broadest line of non-magnetic products in the world.  The V9000 series is the latest, smallest, high voltage trimmer capacitor. Unique in design, the sapphire capacitor is truly sub-miniature at just 0.64“ (at minimum capacitance) in length, but offers the highest working voltage rating (2kV) for its size - whilst delivering a capacitance range of 1 to 12pF.

A Wilkinson power divider, introduced by Knowles, provides in-phase power splitting or combining over a broad bandwidth. This is achieved by application of precision thin film fabrication with integrated resistors, coupled with high permittivity ceramic materials.   

A series of gain equalisers, claimed to be low cost, have been released by Knowles Capacitors.The 0302 size EW series provides slope correction from DC to 18GHz of greater than 3dB. They are designed for repeatable microwave performance to compensate for gain roll-off and VSWR mismatch losses and are a good match to a 50ῼ line width for optimal broadband performance.